Looking for a good set of bongos

[Kari-Matti]

Hi,

I'm thinking of buying a set of bongos and I would like to have suggestions from more experienced bongoceros for what to buy. I have tried a couple sets, but I'm not totally happy with them. I tried some LP pro sets, both wood and fiberglass, but both of them were very heavy. I think they were meant for playing with a stand, since keeping them between my legs created some bruises on my legs. The other set was Tycoon, Grand series, I think. I can look for the exact product number later. The Tycoon set was nice and light weight enough for enjoyable playing, but I wan't to see some others just to make comparison.

One problem I noticed with all of the sets I tired, was that the bigger drum didn't sound very good, I would call it 'flat'. This might be an tuning issue only. In most cases, the bigger drum sounded nice when on table, but when picked up and played between legs, the sound was quite awful. I tensioned the head a bit in case of the Tycoon drums, and that helped a bit. I was afraid to tension it too much, because I didn't want to break the heads just because I'm ignorant.

I also saw Matador bongos a while ago, which sounded really good, but so far I have not found any Matador bongos where I live.

So please, give me some tips on what to look for.

Thanks.

[vinnieL]

without getting too technical it sounds like you may not be tuning them right. as far as the weight well most bongos are going to have weight to them. The Matador Bongos are not a bad way to go although the skins are cheap on them but then again the skins on most store bought drums are cheap. LP Gen II bongos are good too and a step up from Matadors. Meinl has some good offerings as well.

[doctor bloor]

I'm not a bongocero by a long shot, but if you're on a budget you might want to give the LP Valje's a spin. IMHO, the beech wood and traditional rims make them much easier to manage than the bulky comfort curve hardware on the other LP models. As for the sound, no one will mistake them for JCR's, but at $200 or so it's pretty good quality for the money.

[caballoballo]

Kari-Mati. The only suggestion I have for you is to keep reading into the Bongo section of this forum. You will find very good info about better Bongos than any Mass produce made in thailand, forget about those ones. Like I always said invest wise so you do not have to invest twice. Read, research , read again & then decide. Another suggestion is not to buy very old vintage Bongos or too fancy ones, those are good for display not for the every day use. So keep reading. For Any Bongo made in Thailand you have to buy new skins no matter which brand or model (LP,Meiln,Pearl,Toca,Tycoons ,ect ect , see what I mean about investing twice. Hasta La vista

[Kari-Matti]

First of all thanks to all who replied.

I'll keep on looking, reading and trying different set to find a suitable for me. Anyway it seems that I have to negotiate a new set of skins to come with the bongos once I find good ones.

By reading this forum, I have understood that people give high credits to hand-made drums by JCR and Matthew Smith etc. Getting those drums to northern Europe might be a bit of a problem, or at least very expensive. For hand-made drums, the Gon Bops California series might be available, but again very expensive.

In here every music shop specializes on one brand, one shop sells LP, one Meinl. So I have few shops and thus brands still to go through.

I'll keep on searching. Meanwhile I have more questions. Does it matter if the bongo is made of single piece of wood, or from sticks like in a barrel? Second question is related to heads. Does every hardware have the possibility to use any kind of head? I mean, is it always possible to use both premounted heads and making a head from a piece of a animal skin or x-ray film?

Thanks.

[bongosnotbombs]

I used to have the Meinl Woodcraft series bongo.
A very excellent drum in every way. The best bongo
Meinl makes and I prefer it in every way to LP bongos including Matadors'
LP Gen II and III.

[caballoballo]

Kari-Matii, It is easy to mount skins been synthetics or natural on Bongos having traditional rims. In Europe you have a manufacturer by the name of PJ Percussion, they make Bongos,Congas & other percussion. You can accsess them on the web. Also an online reatailer by the name of Bongolei have Bongos made by Sonor. You can try E-Bay europe as well. Good luck

[Raymond]

The heads...that is what is making your tries a bad experience. (Besides the possibility of bad tuning...).

Most mass manufacturers' bongos have bad heads that still need to break in and that are treated heads that gives a "thin can" sound...So with major brands you have to with experience and see how the bongo is manufactured or other people's experiences... With good heads...any bongo will sound great...some better than others because of the quality of the wood, manufacturing, etc, etc...but the heads are the key.

The "boutique" manufacturers', JCR, El Piernas, etc, etc...make great bongos...Thick wood, exotic woods, reinforced, great heads for latin players...So they sound great right away...However, they are expensive and/or hard to find..(Be ready for close to $400 for a set).

The brands I recommend are LP and Pearl... Their bongos are practically the same Pearl has a Folkloric Bongo that is in the line of boutique manufacturers line... Their bongos

Sizes could make a difference...LP has the 7 1/4 and 8 1/2, macho/hembra heads, and Pearl tends to go with 7 and 9. A 9 hembra will give you a more bassy sound...LP has a 9 hembra in their line which is the Generation III..(Pearl's Folkloric Bongo and Bobby Allende's Signature are an exception with 8 1/2 hembras).

The hardware is important...Most bongos are now with the comfort rims that are hard and heavy for playing seated...LP has options about that and Pearl only has the Folcloric line..Regular hardware brings the drums closer that is easier to play too...Comfort rims keep the bongos a little bit more apart..(Regarding colors in LP in regular rims are only two I think).

Meinl's Free Ride, the expensive ones, are great...I've tried the Gon Bops line and they are targeted towards the "boutique makers" with great woods and head...Toca don't know. Remo...have a long way to go in my opinion....

So these are heads up regarding bongos that you have to be aware of...I hope this helps.

Saludos!